State cross country preview: Top local runners, teams to watch

Here’s a preview of Saturday’s high school state cross country championships, including some of the many local runners and teams to watch:

When: Saturday

Where: Sun Willows Golf Course (Pasco)

Race schedule: Wheelchair, 9:30 a.m.; 2B/1B girls, 10 a.m.; 1A girls, 10:30 a.m.; 2A girls, 11 a.m.; 2B/1B boys, 11:30 a.m.; 1A boys, noon; 2A boys, 12:30 p.m.; 3A girls, 1 p.m.; 4A girls, 1:30 p.m.; ambulatory, 2 p.m.; 3A boys, 2:30 p.m.; 4A boys, 3 p.m.

Qualifying: Individual qualification for state was determined by placing in last week’s district meets. Team qualification was determined by placing in the district meet team standings. Qualifying teams send seven runners to the state meet, with their top five state finishers counting toward their team score.

Notes: All times and rankings are according to Athletic.net. There was no state meet in 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

TOP LOCAL BOYS TO WATCH

Luke Schmidt, sr., Shorecrest

Schmidt has the fifth-fastest Class 3A boys time in the state this season (15:26.6) and the 12th-fastest regardless of classification. His season-best time is 29.7 seconds behind 3A top-ranked Lakes senior Cruize Corvin, but within eight seconds of the other three runners ranked ahead of him. Schmidt cruised to the 3A District 1 title last week and has broken the 16-minute mark nine times over the past two seasons, including three sub-15:35 times this fall. He’s making his second state appearance, following an 18th-place finish last year.

Will Lesyna, jr., Kamiak

Lesyna owns the ninth-fastest 4A boys time in the state (15:46.7), sitting 39.3 seconds behind top-ranked Eastlake senior Ethan Pedersen. He placed sixth in last week’s talent-laden 4A District 1/2 championships. He’s making his second consecutive state trip.

Kellen Langford, sr., Arlington

Langford has the 15th-fastest 3A boys time in the state (15:48.8), which he posted during a second-place finish in last week’s 3A District 1 championships. He’s making his second state appearance, following a 70th-place finish last season.

Jaedyn Chase, sr., Kamiak

Chase owns the 14th-fastest 4A boys time in the state (15:55.0). He placed ninth in last week’s 4A District 1/2 championships and has broken the 16-minute mark twice this season. He’s making his third trip to state, following a 54th-place finish last year.

Gavin Darrah, sr., Lakewood

Darrah has the 13th-fastest 2A boys time in the state (15:57.9), which he posted during a fifth-place finish in last week’s talent-laden 2A District 1 championships. He’s making his second consecutive state appearance.

London Haley, sr., Cedarcrest

Haley owns the 17th-fastest 2A boys time in the state (16:04.1), which he posted during a sixth-place finish in last week’s 2A District 1 championships. He’s making his second trip to state, following a 17th-place finish last season.

Jakob Broadbent, sr., Lake Stevens

Broadbent has the 24th-fastest 4A boys time in the state (16:09.6), which he posted during a fifth-place finish in last week’s 4A District 1/2 championships. He’s making his second state appearance, following a 27th-place finish last year.

TOP LOCAL GIRLS TO WATCH

Paige Gerrard, jr., Snohomish

Gerrard is aiming for her second consecutive state medal after earning a sixth-place state finish as a sophomore last season. She owns the ninth-fastest 3A girls time in the state (18:25.3), which she posted while cruising to her second consecutive 3A District 1 title last week. Her season-best time is 20.5 seconds behind 3A top-ranked Stadium sophomore Katelyn Galloway and within 11 seconds of the other seven runners ranked ahead of her. She’s broken the 19-minute mark nine times over the past two seasons, including four sub-18:30 times this fall.

Selena Bangerter, soph., Jackson

Bangerter has the 13th-fastest 4A girls time in the state (18:29.8), which she posted at the Nike Portland XC meet in September. It marked an improvement of more than three minutes over her top time from last year. She’s run two sub-18:45 times this fall.

Ella Edens, sr., Lake Stevens

Edens owns the 18th-fastest 4A girls time in the state (18:43.7), which she posted during a fifth-place finish in last week’s talent-laden 4A District 1/2 championships. She’s making her third state appearance. She placed 65th at state last season and 86th as a freshman in 2019.

Hallie Carroll, soph., Lake Stevens

Carroll has the 27th-fastest 4A girls time in the state (18:57.8), which she posted during a 10th-place finish in last week’s 4A District 1/2 championships. She’s making her second trip to state, following a 51st-place finish as a freshman last year.

Madison Griffith, sr., Arlington

Griffith owns the 23rd-fastest 3A girls time in the state (19:00.6), which is more than a two-minute improvement over her top time from last season. She’s making her state debut.

Emma Hamm, jr., Jackson

Hamm has the 31st-fastest 4A girls time in the state (19:05.2). She’s making her second state appearance, following a 77th-place finish last year.

Payton Conover, jr., Meadowdale

Conover owns the 30th-fastest 3A girls time in the state (19:06.7), which she posted during a third-place finish in last week’s 3A District 1 championships. She’s making her second state trip, following an 88th-place finish last season.

Alexis Canovali-McKenzie, sr., Monroe

Canovali-McKenzie has the 31st-fastest 3A girls time in the state (19:07.9), which she posted during a fourth-place finish in last week’s 3A District 1 championships. She’s making her second state appearance, following a 16th-place finish last year that earned her a spot on the state podium.

TOP LOCAL TEAMS TO WATCH

Kamiak boys

Led by the one-two punch of Lesyna and Chase, the Knights have two runners ranked in the top 15 of 4A and five in the top 100. Kamiak earned a third-place team finish at last week’s talent-laden 4A District 1/2 championships, which secured the program’s third consecutive state team berth.

Lake Stevens boys

The Vikings have five runners ranked in the top 80 of 4A. They earned a fourth-place team finish at the 4A District 1/2 championships, which gave them their first state team berth since 2015.

Lake Stevens girls

The Vikings made it through their rugged bi-district with a third-place team finish in last week’s 4A District 1/2 championships. They’re led by the trio of Edens, Carroll and senior Alexis Buhman — who are each ranked in the top 50 of 4A. Lake Stevens has earned three top-10 state team finishes in the past four state meets, including a ninth-place finish last year.

Shorewood boys

After missing state by an excruciatingly narrow margin last year, the Stormrays cruised to the 3A District 1 team title last week. They have four runners ranked in the top 55 of 3A, led by junior Keiyu Mamiya.

LIST OF LOCAL QUALIFYING TEAMS

Below is a complete list of local teams that qualified for state.

4A boys: Kamiak, Lake Stevens

4A girls: Lake Stevens

3A boys: Shorewood, Shorecrest, Edmonds-Woodway, Arlington

3A girls: Snohomish, Shorecrest, Arlington